Would you consider this a bot?

Shantu · May 2020

I see this a lot lately and I'm 99% sure this is what's going on:

A player parks their toon and a mat node so the "Interact with Environment" key is displayed. At that point they start executing a macro that continually presses the interact key in an endless loop. Sometimes you can just ignore them and take the mat. Other times you'll get a message stating someone else is using that even though the mat is displayed and the person doesn't appear to be actively harvesting it. Each time I see this I ether just stand there or message the person until they eventually return to their computer, freak out, jump on their mount, and ride away.

I've thought about reporting the player (always seems to be the same one) but I'm not sure it this would be considered a bot..or just bot-like behavior that, while annoying, really doesn't violated any rules.

Any thoughts?

RefLiberty · May 2020

Smart people already defined what botting is:

Device or piece of software that execute commands or perform routine tasks usually without user intervention

or

a computer program that performs automatic repetitive tasks

So yes, he is botting.

pod88kk · May 2020

Yurt

VaranisArano · May 2020

Macro-ing isn't allowed, as you have to be actually controlling your character. Using the Questionable Meat Sack is a great way to test this. Actual players won't pick it up, but a bot/macro user os just picking up whatever is in front of them automatically.

Shantu · May 2020

I suppose it was a dumb question, but thank you for taking the time to smarten me up.

Alucardo · May 2020

Question is, how can you tell that's a bot? What if it's just an extremely bored individual watching movies on their phone while waiting for the node to respawn?

Ratzkifal · May 2020

I am fairly sure that using macros is already not allowed, so yes, this is a bot, even if that's not an accurate description.

If you want to mess with these people, use the mysterious meatsack memento in front of them but slightly to the side of the node. You'll cause them to interact with it and get "off course" thus ruining their botting if done enough times.

Elsonso · May 2020

Shantu wrote: »

I see this a lot lately and I'm 99% sure this is what's going on:

A player parks their toon and a mat node so the "Interact with Environment" key is displayed. At that point they start executing a macro that continually presses the interact key in an endless loop. Sometimes you can just ignore them and take the mat. Other times you'll get a message stating someone else is using that even though the mat is displayed and the person doesn't appear to be actively harvesting it. Each time I see this I ether just stand there or message the person until they eventually return to their computer, freak out, jump on their mount, and ride away.

I've thought about reporting the player (always seems to be the same one) but I'm not sure it this would be considered a bot..or just bot-like behavior that, while annoying, really doesn't violated any rules.

Any thoughts?

This was very popular early in the game and it was why I quit ESO for a while. Stonefalls used to be filled with them, one standing at every Jute resource as far as the eye could see.

If you can take the mat, it is likely that the player is AFK. No harm in that and it does not mean they are a bot.

If the node is locked, then the other player is holding it open and not taking the contents. This can happen with bots when the inventory is full. This used to be a way to trap the bots that run from node to node. Now they detect when a player is holding the node and move on.

If the node vanishes instantly and the player just stands there, and this repeats, then the odds of it being a bot increase significantly.

Alucardo wrote: »

Question is, how can you tell that's a bot? What if it's just an extremely bored individual watching movies on their phone while waiting for the node to respawn?

Try it sometime. You will understand the difference.

Ri_Khan · May 2020

Reported a player multiple times for doing this in Betnikh last year. When confronted they even admitted to using macros and being afk. A guildmate and I used the meatbag to mess with them for a while, that was really fun. Checked a couple times for several days after and they were always there. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if it's the same scrub still.